Airport finance chief says she was wrongly fired

The former financial controller of the Cayman Islands Airports Authority is asking for a judge to review her firing claiming the authority acted unfairly and outside the law when she was dismissed last year.

In an application for judicial review filed with the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, lawyers acting for Ms Ware argue that the CIAA board exceeded its authority as a supervisory body when it dismissed her December.

They further allege that there was no factual basis for the board’s decision to dismiss Ms Ware and that the move was against ‘natural justice’ because she was given no opportunity to dispute or explain the findings of an internal audit report which was used as the basis for her dismissal.

Ms Ware is asking to be reinstated to the role, compensated for loss of salary and for the CIAA to issue a public statement accepting that she was wrongfully terminated and any allegations of misconduct or wrongdoing were incorrect.

Ms Ware was fired by board chairman Richard Arch on December 7 at a board meeting and by letter, the paperwork states.

Only the chief executive officer had the power to fire Ms Ware, under the terms of the contract, the application states.

It adds: “The decision to terminate the applicant’s employment was made on the basis of an internal financial auditing report undertaken by a member of the board of directors.

“The applicant was given no opportunity to respond to the findings of the report or address the board of directors…

“The applicant disputes the findings published in the internal auditing report and any allegations that she was guilty of serious misconduct.”

1 COMMENT

This same pathway has been utilized with many others in the government owned private entity sector wherein others have been treated line for line exactly the same as this newspaper report describes. Others also given no opportunity to respond to the purported findings of ill-will reporting used to discredit the characters of otherwise honourable persons of good character and integrity. Close scrutiny of Boards is vitally essential to uncover why this behaviour has been allowed to take place over the past few years in order that post-election Board selection is mandated by the meeting of the highest standards of business ETHICS particularly as they apply to Board Chairman and Directors of every Board elected in the Cayman Islands.

I don’t know Ms. Ware at all, but I do know that it takes a lot of courage to stand up for what is right. The courts are probably the only way anyone will get any just treatment these days.

I hope that you achieve justice and that your efforts will be a signal to others who feel that they have been mistreated to also step forward. The only thing that stands between right and wrong is people who are willing to stand for what is right. That applies to people who are abused and our judiciary who I am confident will do the right thing.